CRANACH, Lucas the Elder
(b. 1472, Kronach, d. 1553, Weimar)

Portrait Diptych

1509
Oil and tempera on wood, 42 x 31 cm (each)
National Gallery, London

The left wing of the diptych portrays Duke John the Steadfast (1486-1532), while the right wing, instead of his wife Sophie of Mecklenburg (1481-1503), depicts their six-year old son, the later Elector John Frederick the Magnanimous (1503-1554). Sophie of Mecklenburg died giving birth to her first son.